okay so i've changed my eating habbits for a while now, i've been really strict and im in pretty good shape from when i first started this whole life style change, but we all get those sudden urge to pig out once in a while, and today was the big one for me, i just couldnt resist, eating all the sushi and chinese dumplings i wanted ahhh. is there anyway that keeps you from pigging out, and dont you hate the guilt trip you have after your done eating all of those food? is there anything i can do?
A cheat meal every once in a while isn't bad, it can actually help you stay on your diet. And there are probably a lot worse things to eat than sushi, and if the dumplings were steamed, those aren't too bad either.
I used to work with a guy who did body for life. he was in amazing shape and ate healthy all week. Friday was his cheat day. He would come back from the cafeteria at lunch with a stack of styrofoam containers a couple feet high. pizza, hamburger, fries, you name it, it was in there. So cheating once a week, once every 2 weeks won't kill you. Better to do that than say "I can't do this diet i have to eat ___________" and drop off the diet completely.
I can say from experience that a cheat day is a good thing. Allow yourself the freedom for the day to eat what you want. It'll help you keep focused on your reformed eating habits, and curb those cravings that you can have.
The whole cheat notion is very much an individual thing. For starters I ask you to consider A cheat meal, not a cheat day. One meal per week where you have anything you please, if you feel you need that. Here again though reasonability should apply, you want a whopper value meal, fine go get it, you want 10 whopper value meals, you should call someone for help. For some a cheat meal works perfectly, it relieves cravings, offers psychological relief from the strict diet etc. Another thing for cravings, is that if you can allow yourself to have a little of what it is that you want without going overboard this can end the craving and prevent complete nutritional disaster. For example, craving sweets, go ahead and have a hershey's kiss or two, before you end up wolfing down a whole ice cream cake.
For me, I try to evaluate it this way, will eating this, taking this cheat meal, get me closer to my goal or not. On average every cheat meal results in an extra two days of needing to be on the diet. Think about that 8 cheat meals on a 8 week diet will add about two extra weeks to your diet. As in all things moderation is the key.
YngHungSFSD said As in all things moderation is the key.
All things in moderation is my biggest rule.
I try to keep on my diet all week...and I slack off a bit on the weekends...not going crazy or anything...but a slice of cake that baked for my boyfriend is not going to kill me and it is going to make me happy...and isn't that the reason we are doing this anyways...To make us happy with ourselves, our bodies and our minds.
If I want chocolate at night...I will have a square off of the godiva bar...and as long as I am not eating the whole bar...or 2 bars for that matter...what can it hurt.
Moderation is the key...in pretty much everything we do in life!
